The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Viola cornuta named ‘Sunviolamari’ that originated from the crossing a Viola hybrid variety named ‘OV-37-1’ as the female parent and a variety named ‘0V-72A’ as the male parent.
In April 2000, crossing of ‘0V-37-1’ as the female parent and ‘0V-72A’ as the pollen parent was conducted as Yokaichi-shi, Shiga, Japan. In May 2000, some seeds were obtained from that crossing. In August 2000, the seeds were sown and 20 seedlings were obtained. Three of the seedlings were selected in view of their spreading growth habit, and medium-sized flowers having a violet-blue petal color. These seedings were propagated by the use of cuttings and were grown in pots, and then a plant trial was carried out beginning in October 2001, at Yokaichi-shi, Shiga, Japan. The botanical characteristics of the plants were then examined, using the similar varieties, ‘Violetto Nive’ and ‘Alpine Summer’, for comparison. As a result, one seedling was selected and it was concluded that this Viola plant is distinguishable from any other variety, whose existence is known to us, and is uniform and stable in its characteristics. The new variety of Viola plant was named ‘Sunviolamari’.
The female parent ‘0V-37-1’ (not patented in the U.S.) is a strain from our breeding lines grown at Yokaichi-shi, Shiga, Japan, having a spreading growth habit with prostrate stems. The flower size is almost the same as the ‘Sunviolamari’ variety, and the petals display a white color.
The pollen parent ‘0V-72A’ (not patented in the U.S.) is a strain of our breeding lines grown at Yokaichi-shi, Shiga, Japan, having a spreading growth habit with prostrate stems. It has smaller-sized flowers than the new ‘Sunviolamari’ variety, and the petals have a light blue color.
In the following description, the color information is in accordance with The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England.